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(A tongue-in-cheek story describes Migraine Disease)
One day, an ordinary girl wakes up to find that something about her has changed. In the night, a creature drops onto her pillow, where it crawls with stealth to her face. Slowly it creeps to her ear where it painlessly finds its way in. She now shares her brain with something angry and sinister, whose ambition is to control her life from within.
The villain…
Sometimes mercifully, the creature sleeps. But the creature has weaknesses. Light, sound, odors, certain foods the girl puts into her body, all can wake the creature, tormenting it with deadly precision. Her life has changed forever. She is now… Bat Cave Girl.
The battle…
Inside her head, she feels the creature’s anger and pain as it writhes and screams, gripping and clawing at her brain, her face, her eye, her sinuses. She tries to appease the beast. She tries bribery with chocolate and other sweet and salty foods. When that fails, she finds that the only way to make the beast fall back into its hibernation is to lay quietly in the dark, cold stillness of a windowless room – her Bat Cave.
Our heroine…
Superpowers revealed…
Bat Cave Girl has realized something else. When the beast inside her is wakened, she has super powers. Her vision is heightened and she can see the tiniest amount of light, no matter its direction. She can mystify friends by telling them the exact type of light in the room. Her hearing is heightened – the sound of a pin dropping on the floor can easily be heard… and felt by her entire body. Her sense of smell is heightened and the smallest odors seem overwhelming. She tries to use her newfound powers for good, but she cannot control them.
The Migraine beast inside her brain tries to cover up these newfound superpowers. He muddles the vision with hallucinations in her field of vision. He adds ringing in her ears to make sounds more difficult to discern. He gives her things to smell that are not there, hoping that it will confuse her.
The metamorphosis…
Ordinary girl has no control over the change into Bat Cave Girl. When she comes into contact with her kryptonite – certain types of light, sound, smells, foods, chemicals – it wakens the beast. She can feel it beginning to move about in her head.
The elixir…
There are mysterious and magic potions that sometimes will quiet the beast, but only if she is able to take them before the beast is fully aroused. Once awake, the beast is powerful, and her battle to overtake him is fierce.
The secret…
Bat Cave Girl doesn’t tell the world about her superpowers, or the creature that lies in her brain, tormenting her. She goes through her days, secretly dancing around the kryptonite she sees, praying no one has hidden any that will hurt her. She knows that no one would believe her incredible story of brain dwelling creatures bent on world domination, nor the strange superpowers they could not hope to understand.
The search for a cure…
Scientists from around the globe put their heads together to find a way to prevent the beast from awakening again. Bat Cave Girl sees many doctors who try to help her. They tell her that she is not alone. There are others like her.
Bat Cave Girl looks for others like her, secretly fighting their battles with the angry beasts inside their heads. She reads stories of others with super powers like hers, and she learns from their battles with the enemy within them.
The Force is with us…
She forges an alliance with them. They call themselves The Migraine Force. Their job? To spread the word about the evil beasts who threaten to take over the world. To join forces to fight them with education, and tools, and the support and strength of millions throughout the world. To help scientists find a way to keep them asleep, or better yet – kill them. They vow to battle the beasts to the very end, when they will finally rule victorious. Peace is once again restored, and the world forgets the scourge of…
The Migraine Beasts.
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Discuss
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Abigail Bristow (Thu, 31 Mar 2011 03:54:02 +0000): ok I totally love this my husband thinks I am crazy and has referred to the bedroom as the batcave! and it freaks him out that I can hear and decern the music in the parking lot across from my apt building even though the windows are closed and the tv is on low.. and my eyes just can't bear the light it's awful.. I like the way you put this I am still looking for my secret elixir!
Jamie Sohn (Thu, 15 Sep 2011 17:43:18 +0000): Ellen, that rocked!
Karen Drosehn (Sat, 17 Sep 2011 01:42:30 +0000): so true so very very true.
Sam Urkov (Mon, 17 Oct 2011 05:03:13 +0000): Excellent job. I hope to become a migraine researcher so that we can better understand and treat these monsters in our heads.
Aimee Lianne Bourner (Thu, 22 Dec 2011 22:07:34 +0000): This is a great way to explain migraines to a younger audience. I loved it. Bring on The Migraine Force!
Gabrielle Hardeway (Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:05:36 +0000): Love it! My 8 year old and I share the need for the "Batcave" and it is spot on. Cold, dark and silent!
Rebecca Callahan Ridgick (Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:54:08 +0000): great job!
"My migraines, when at their worst would have me throwing up and unable to really focus or concentrate. I used to still go into work sometimes having to pull over and throw up on the side of the road." 
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reading this makes me feel like you are the greatest superhero ever..because who couldn’t understand that explanation. all we want is for the people around us to understand and stop treating us like we are making this stuff up. my boyfriend is a big comic book fan…this completely made him grasp my ordeal alot better. thanks
Read your article. I agree with: certain odors can cause that feeling to come. For that I trust in my Fiorinal.
Looking forward to seeing more info. from you.
Thanks so much you guys!
I love this piece, Ellen!
I enjoyed your piece, it’s both informative and entertaining. Always a good thing to find creative ways to deal with the frustration/pain of living with this disease. Kudos! -Jane